Foxcroft Academy sports update: track and swimming records fall, wrestlers take second at regionals, and more…

Morrison sets two school records at PVC meet

Fern Morrison established new Foxcroft Academy records in the 400-meter run and the 800-meter run at the PVC-Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Championship Meet at New Balance Field House in Orono on Saturday. The senior’s time of 1:00.81 in the 400 shattered a record she set as a sophomore by two full seconds but was not quite good enough to hold off Rebecca Lopez-Anido of Orono, who ran a blistering 59.88 to set a new mark at the field house. Morrison’s 2:28.12 in the 800 also broke her own record and was good for third in a very competitive field, with Mattanawcook’s Tia Tardy racing to victory and Lopez-Anido taking second.

“Fern entered the season with the goal of running 60 indoors,” said Coach Graham Pearsall. “It was great to see her go out and get it done, solidifying herself as the best female mid-distance runner in school history.”

The Ponies finished in tenth place, with Morrison scoring 14 of the team’s 15 points. Desirae Brawn secured the final point with a sixth-place finish in the shot put (28-09.00).

The boys’ team captured 26 points to finish in sixth place. Cooper Nelson and Pete Boyer accounted for 16 points with second-place showings in the mile run and shot put. Nelson easily broke the five-minute mark (4:43.56) once again and only trailed Outstanding Performer of the Meet Paul Casavant of Mattanawcook while Boyer tossed 43-01.00 to finish behind Brewer’s Austin Lufkin. Dylan Richards, Sebastian Zepeda, Jason Eubanks, and Justin Diamond added eight more points with a runner-up finish in the 4×200 meter relay, and Julian Zepeda placed fifth in the 400-meter dash.

The Ponies will compete in the state meet at Bates College on February 16.

Swimmers smash school record in 200-yard medley relay

Following a sweep of Washington Academy on Senior Night at the Dover-Foxcroft PRYMCA on Wednesday night, Foxcroft Academy’s swimmers took to Webber Pool at Husson University Friday and Saturday for the 36th annual PVC Swimming and Diving Championship.

The girls’ team competed on Saturday and fought their way to a very impressive fourth-place finish, getting bumped from the top three by John Bapst in the final event. The day got off to an exceptional start when Avery Carroll (backstroke), Julia Annis (breaststroke), Jenna Clukey (butterfly), and Jillian Annis (freestyle) smashed the school record in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:57.94, good for a runner-up finish.

Julia Annis went on to win the 100-yard breaststroke and finish second in the 50-yard freestyle, Clukey won the 200-yard freestyle and was runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly, Avery Carroll took second in the 100-yard backstroke and fourth in the 200-yard IM, and Jillian Annis finished 10th in the 100-yard backstroke and 11th in the 50-yard freestyle. Chloe Waugh joined fellow freshman Clukey, Carroll, and Julia Annis to pick up a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Clay Carroll led the undermanned boy’s team to a 10th-place finish Friday night. The senior placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke and ninth in the 100-yard freestyle while also teaming with Dexter Canning, Zachary Johnson, and Tony Tang to take ninth in the 200-yard medley relay.

Next up for Coach Jody Annis’s team is a trip to the University of Maine for the Class B State Championship Meet. Clay Carroll will compete for the boys’ team on Saturday while Jillian Annis, Julia Annis, Avery Carroll, and Jenna Clukey have qualified for the girls’ meet on Monday, February 16.

Photo of the record-setting relay team was taken by Coach Annis.

Wrestlers battle to second-place finish at Eastern Regionals

Five Foxcroft Academy wrestlers became regional champions in leading Coach Luis Ayala’s team to a runner-up finish at the Class B Eastern Regional Championship Meet in Waldoboro on Saturday. The Ponies were edged by an Ellsworth team that captured its first Eastern Maine Class B title in school history.

“I am so proud of this team and how they fought hard all day long to finish as Class B Regional runner-up,” said Coach Ayala.

The Ponies got off to a tough start when seven of their 12 wrestlers drew byes for the first round–costing the team a shot at two points per wrestler–but they battled back nicely and climbed from fifth after the first round to third behind Ellsworth and Belfast heading into the championship round. With seven wrestlers competing in the finals, they were able to overcome the Lions but finished just behind the Eagles, who they’ll have another shot at in the Class B State Championship Meet at Fryeburg Academy on Saturday.

“It all came down to the last round,” said Coach Ayala. “We knew it was going to be tough to catch Ellsworth because of who they had to wrestle in the finals. We had a better chance to catch Belfast, but things had to go our way. We had seven in the finals to Ellsworth’s six and Belfast’s five. Gathering the team for one last pep talk, they knew exactly what we had to do. Every match was going to be crucial.”

Antonio Ayala got things started for Foxcroft with a 16-3 major decision win over Chase Curry of Belfast in the 120-pound final. Eli Olson found himself down 8-4 with 30 seconds to go in the 126 final, but the hardworking senior pulled off a dramatic win by pinning Ellsworth’s Robert Banner with just three seconds to go in the match. Brooks Law then lost a hard-fought 7-5 decision in the 152 final to Ellsworth’s Connor Petros in what may well be a preview of the state final this coming weekend. Billy Brock took care of business in dominating fashion, pinning Belfast’s Matt Smith in the 170 final, and Brandon Brock battled his way to a 7-4 decision over Jeff Weeks of Ellsworth at 182. In the 220 final, Michael Pendriss sealed second place for the Ponies when he was awarded a victory due to an illegal slam by his opponent. Connor Holmes closed things out with a very physical match against Jared Hansen of Belfast, who pinned him in the first round earlier this year. Down 3-2 with 20 seconds left, Holmes tried one last attempt for a takedown but was unsuccessful and ended up losing 5-2. “I am so proud of Connor,” said Ayala. “He has come a long way this year. He has just improved so much, and to come in second at regionals after being seeded third puts him a good position for states.”

In addition to the seven wrestlers who reached the finals, Brandon Weston (third place at 106), Esau Olson (fourth at 113), and Conner Johnson (fourth at 132) also qualified for the state meet. “A good example of what this team is about is just to look at our 106-pound freshman Brandon Weston,” said Ayala. “He came into the tournament seeded sixth. For him to qualify for states, he had to finish in the top four in his weight class, which meant beating several kids he had lost to earlier in the year. He could have said this is impossible, but he took the approach that he would work hard all week and give his best at every match. That’s exactly what he did. We believed in him and he believed in himself and his abilities. We came with a game plan, and he stuck it–pulling an upset win in the Conci-Semis and then winning the Conci-Finals for a third-place finish.”

Boys’ basketball closes regular season on high note

On the heels of three tough home losses to excellent teams, Coach Dave Carey’s basketball team took to the road last week and picked up a 55-31 win at John Bapst on Thursday and a 51-26 win at Dexter on Friday to close the season at 9-9 and lock down a spot in postseason play. The Ponies have earned the 10th seed in Class B East and will travel to #7 Oceanside (12-6) for a preliminary-round battle Wednesday night at 6:30. It will be the first meeting between the teams since the 13th-seeded Ponies stunned the 4th-seeded Mariners 55-45 in the 2013 preliminary round.

Drew Dankert knocked down five three-pointers to pace the Ponies with 18 points in the win over John Bapst. Hunter Smith stuffed the box score with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and six steals; Sean Cody had 11 points and seven rebounds; Dylan Harmon-Weeks had seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists; and Isaiah Kennel added three points and three rebounds.

Smith and Cody combined for 37 points and 18 rebounds in the comfortable win at Dexter. Smith finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals while Cody scored 17 and pulled down eight rebounds. Harmon-Weeks added three points, four rebounds, and three assists. For more on this game, check out Marc Calnan’s recap on the Eastern Maine Sports Blog.

Ponies upset PCHS to earn playoff berth

After nearly upsetting 14-4 John Bapst on Wednesday, Coach Blake Smith’s young and improving girls’ basketball team came up big on Senior Night at Foxcroft Academy on Thursday, dealing PCHS its fourth loss of the season and picking up enough Heal Points to grab the 13th and final spot in the Class B East postseason tournament. The 5-13 Ponies will travel to Camden Hills Tuesday night to take on the 4th-seeded Windjammers (13-5) at 6:30.

Foxcroft raced to a 21-14 lead at the break before holding on for a 34-28 win over the Pirates, who have earned the #3 seed in Class C East behind Narraguagus and Houlton. Senior Elizabeth Richard was outstanding in her final home game for the Ponies, drilling two three-pointers on her way to a career-high 13 points. Grace Bickford poured in eight points, Madison Chadbourne scored six, and Jacquelyn Miles knocked down a big three.

The Ponies entered the fourth quarter tied at 36 with John Bapst, the #6 seed in Class B East, but ended up falling 51-47. Chadbourne led a balanced offensive attack with 12 points while Bickford had 11 and Abby Simpson had 10. Kendra Ewer (6), Richard (4), and Abbi Bourget (4) accounted for the rest of the Pony scoring.